Victorious S5E1 - Senior Year Celebration
by wontaskyouformercy
Summary: Summer is coming to a close. The gang meet up for a night at the carnival for one final time before their final year at Hollywood Arts begins.
1. Senior Year Celebration

_The way Victorious should have continued._ _The crew is back! Doing this is terms of "episodes" so you guys can use your imagination, as well as for the finale we never got. Picking up where the gang meet up the week before their final year at Hollywood Arts begin. Will probably be mature as the chapters/episodes progress, also femslash later._

 _Thankyou for all your support so far, and for everyone keeping the fandom alive. Hopefully you guys enjoy._ _._

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 **_PRECURSOR - NO ONE'S POV_**

Tori stumbles into her room with several bags of "back to school" clothes that her mom kindly insisted on buying for her. She drops all the bags at once against her red plush carpet, sighing at the relieved burden. She opens the first bag, parting the plastic with the handles and begins sorting, carrying handfuls of clothing as she separates them from what belongs in the dresser, in the closet, and where specifically in which compartment it's going to go. She hangs up 3 pairs of skinny jeans that look pretty much exactly alike before she hears her laptop releasing a familiar chime. She tosses the remaining armful of clothes onto the corner of her bed and sits beside them, moving her laptop to rest on her legs and opening it, logging in and being greeted with a notification screen from their version of Skype.

 **Incoming call from AndreH...**

Confused, she answers.

"Hola chica!" Andre greets, happy to see Tori.

She waggles her fingers back at the camera, "Hey Andre," she greets back, "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you and the rest of the crew would like to go to the carnival tomorrow night, you know, to hang out one last time before the school year starts,"

Tori cringes, "Ehhhh,"

"They're hosting a firework special tomorrow," he persuades, "And they'll have live music, maybe we can perform something,"

Tori Vega never turns down an opportunity to sing.

"Alright! Let's do it, have you asked the others yet?" Tori asks as she cruses the pointer across the screen, displaying her contact list to see who's online.

"Nah, I didn't.. I wanted to get everyone on here to talk to them about it,"

"Because it's hard to lie to a face?"

"Exactly,"

Tori chuckles as she adds people to the group call, a request is sent to HappyCat, ScissorLuv, GotBeck and RobRobster. The great thing about this version of "Skype" is that, it will keep ringing until someone answers, or the laptop dies, whichever goes first. It's very annoying but because of this broken feature, the chances of someone answering is pretty high.

 **HappyCat accepted your video chat request.**

Cat is the first to answer, probably was on her laptop already, "Hi guys!"

They both greet Cat, who starts with _'Oh my gosh so let me tell you what happened today'_ before she's cut off with the sound of a new contact joining the chat.

 **RobRobster accepted your video chat request.**

It's Robbie with Rex in his lap and an irritated look on his face.

"Hey Rob!" Andre greets, but Robbie's emotion doesn't change, "Hey" he goes, gruffly. Tori and Andre both look into the camera questioningly, "Is everything alright?" Andre asks, tentatively.

"Well no, everything is not alright because today-" and that's as far as Robbie goes because the chiming sound of someone else accepting the group request goes off.

 **GotBeck accepted your video chat request**.

It's Beck, but the screen is very dim, and he's tossing over in his bed it seems, groaning a sound that, without words says, _I'm slowly waking up._

"Hi sleepy head!" Cat goes, so blaringly loud that it causes the silhouette figure of Beck to jerk back from the screen, the sound of him sighing against the laptop mic clogging any sound for a second, "Why Becky so sleepy?" she goes, laughing as she references to the time Sikowitz asked him the same question when he fell asleep in class; when Beck had a relentless cricket keeping him up for weeks on end.

He sighs as he sits up, brown eyes squinting as he raises the brightness on his laptop so we can better see his face, "It's 11PM, a normal time to go to bed," he defends himself, "If I sleep later, it'll be a huge pain to fix my schedule again," he goes. That was actually a valid point. Beck came off as a cool guy, but he valued his grades and keeping a set schedule more than any of the gang- Robbie included. He likes predictability. He likes having control of his life.

"Are we missing anyone?" Andre asks, specifically to the Latina.

"Uh," Tori goes, counting down her friends and naming them off.

"Why are we here anyway?" Robbie asks, his voice seemingly less annoyed now.

"I think we're missing-" Tori goes, and then she's cut off by the chime of someone entering the chat again.

 **ScissorLuv accepted your video chat request.**

"-My GOD does this ringing ever stop?!" Jade shouts as her face appears on the screen, teeth bared momentarily.

"... I think we were missing Jade," Andre mutters, not too intelligently.

Tori smiles at the camera, nodding in greeting to Jade who only quirks a brow in return, huffing as she sits back in her seat, twirling with the ends of her hair.

"So this meeting, what's going on?" Beck asks, trying to diffuse any potential tension that Jade may have brought to the table.

"Oh right!" Tori goes, forgetting about telling them of the plan, "Me and Andre wanted to know if you guys would like to go to the Carnival tomorrow night,"

"Oh yay I love carnivals!" Cat squeals.

Robbie's face ponders for a sec, "Yeah i'll go too," he smiles at the camera.

"So ya'll going to do your boy Rex dirty like that?" The puppet speaks, offended they didn't include him.

Tori rolls her eyes, "Sorry, Rex, you're welcome to come to the Carnival with us if you'd like," She forces out.

"I'll bring my guns with me," the puppet goes, raising his little plastic arms, "I'm gonna win us the biggest prize they have, haha!"

"Alright!" Andre goes, clapping his hands together happily, "What about you Beck.. Jade?"

Jade looks up at the camera at the mention of her name, her eyes sharp before returning back to fiddling with her hair, "Beck and I are busy tomorrow night,"

Beck looks off as if to think, and then back at the laptop, "We- We are?"

Her eyes lock back onto the screen, "Yes."

Beck's eyebrows furrow, "What are we doing tomorrow night?"

A muscle in Jade's jaw tightens, "Literally anything else,"

Tori and Andre both look at Beck expectantly, and he only smirks and raises and drops his shoulders, "I will be at the Carnival," he glances at us, agreeing to the plan.

Jade drops her hands and leans in to the screen, "Really?!" She shouts at her boyfriend through the computer, who only offers a sympathetic smile, "Fine. I guess i'll go too.. but only because I actually want to," she finalizes, leaning back into her chair.

"Awesome! So tomorrow at the Carnival, it's just down the road of The Premiere Theater, let's shoot for 7pm," Andre goes.

Beck raises a thumb at the camera, stifling a yawn, "See you then," and then he's logged off.

Cat squeals again, "I'm so excited! Wait, can I bring a friend with me?"

"I don't see why not," Tori offers reassuringly.

"Who's your friend?" Andre asks, questioningly.

"A guy from Northridge," She says under her breath while shying away from the camera, blushing.

"Yeah, a really big, muscular, good looking guy!" Robbie throws in, Rex looking up at him with his jaw dropped. _Man does that boy really blur some lines._

"I don't see a problem with it," Tori goes, looking at Andre, "Andre?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "I'm cool with it,"

Cat claps her hands together so quickly it's just a blur on the screen, "Kay kay! See you guys tomorrow!" and then she's logged off.

Tori is looking back at Robbie now, his pout making another appearance, "That's what you're upset about?"

He only nods, fixing his glasses.

"C'mon man, she's never going to look at you that way unless you tell her how you feel," Andre tells the curly haired boy.

Tori nods in agreement, "Speak now or forever hold your peace," she chimes in.

"He's telling Cat he has a school girl crush on her, they're not getting married," Jade spits out with so much venom it takes everyone aback- and this is Jade we're talking about-someone who is walking venom. Tori honestly forgot she was even here, but doesn't dignify her statement with a response, only rolling her eyes.

"What's really stopping you from picking your phone up right now and telling her the truth?" Andre questions, "If she says she's not feeling it, you go back to being friends, if she ends up feeling something, then you have a shot and making something really worthwhile," Andre finishes. He's really good at relationship advice, actually. He believes in taking chances, and life being about the experiences, the chances we take, the moments that take your breath away- not the outcome,

"What do you have to lose, Rob?".

Tori notices Jade has paused messing with her hair, eyes not looking at the screen but looking at her lap, her gaze distant, listening intently to this conversation.

"I think you should tell her," Tori agrees again, "You're not going to relay this information to Cat are you?" She warns Jade.

Jade looks up at the screen, furrowing her eyebrows, "Like this hasn't been painfully obvious since the day they met," She retorts. _She's right though_. It's obvious to anyone that isn't the little spunky redhead, how insanely head over heels Robbie is for her.

Robbie takes in this encouragement and nods, "You're right. I'll tell her, thanks everyone, even you Jade," he forces out, Jade not responding, and then he's logged off.

"ANDRE!" The screaming tears through the laptop, all three of the remaining group visibly jumping in unison, "DID YOU FEED LARRY HIS DINNER!" Andre's grandma goes, in reference to her pet macaw, who they all met when he was used as a prop for a segment Beck directed.

"Dang, I gotta go do that," Andre huffs out, "Well, I'll see you two chicas tomorrow!"

"ANDREEEE!" Is all that's heard once more, and then he's logged off.

Tori and Jade stare at eachother in silence, the awkwardness burdening. Tori scratches at her head for the proper sentence to fill the silence, "You know you could've left as soon as plans were confirmed right?" She reminds Jade. _I guess that works_ , she thinks.

Jade shrugs, "I was listening to what Andre had to say," she freezes, feeling increasingly uncomfortable as those just said words replay in her mind, "and I had nothing better to do, so.." She trails off, her hair curling around her fingers but her gaze never wavering from the screen.

Tori sucks in a deep breath and sighs, _okay, this is really awkward now._

"Well I have stuff to do so, I'm going to go do them," She goes, "See you tomorrow?" She offers in a friendly tone.

Jades expression resumes it's cold, malicious appearance, "Whatever," and then she's logged off.

Tori lets this roll off her shoulders, nothing unusual about that departure, at least she said something this time before hanging up. Tori goes back to reorganizing her clothes, thinking about the outfit for tomorrow night already.

Jade, however, remains sitting in her chair as soon as the laptop closes shut, Andre's words replaying in her mind.

 _What do you have to lose?_


	2. Senior Year Celebration- Chapter 2

**_TORI VEGA POV_**

The weekend before school begins. It's the first week of September, the night is perfect temperature. It's warm and slightly humid but a frequent breeze serves as a reminder that winter is coming. The winters here aren't too bad, there's rarely snow- it just gets colder and we get more rain, and more infrequently- hale. The stars are clouded by the bright lights of the amusement rides, but some of them are still prevalent, shining through amoung the rest. Despite being out of school for two months, me and the gang still kept in touch on a near daily basis. We have a group chat that goes off everyday, though not everyone participates everyday. Andre however, decided to Skype call us as a group instead of texting- because seeing someones lying face is a good coercion tactic to get them to agree.

"Call me when you need a ride back," Trina calls from out of the Jeep, pausing for a minute before raising a finger, "but i'd prefer if you didn't," she throws in, pulling the car into reverse without looking behind her, nearly bumping into other parked cars. _How did she get her license and I didn't,_ I wonder. Then she zooms out of the parking lot, the backlights of the car disappearing around the corner with several aggressive honks fleeting with her. I make my way to the entrance of the carnival, asphalt replaced with soft grass, my tanned boots silent against the change of texture. The smell of grease and powdered sugar overwhelms my sense, the generic carnival music giving me a sense of euphoria. It's been far too long sine I've been to one of these. Over this vacation, I've only seen Andre and Cat, but even that was several weeks ago. We haven't all hung out together since school ended, and for some reason i'm concerned that the dynamic between us is going to change soon, as people tend to grow and begin to build their futures- who they are changes as well. I find the landmark Andre mentioned to meet at, the large ferris wheel, and walk towards the sign beside the ride, pulling out my PearPhone to contact the gang when I notice it's just me here, but i'm startled by two hands jumping on my shoulders. I scream and my phone slips out of my hands, falling facedown on the grass with a thud.

"Why do you do that?!" I chastise Andre, my hand over my heart as it tries to calm. He's at least nice enough to bend down to retrieve my phone, cleaning it against his jeans before he hands it to me.

"Because you make it fun!" he laughs out, looking around now for everyone else, "I see little red approaching," and then, I too, notice Cat waving towards us as she picks up her speed, her walk turning into a long-strided skip, her tight grip on her friends' sleeve evident as he struggles to keep up.

"Hey Cat," I greet to her as she approaches, her grip letting go on the boy next to her as she jumps up and pulls me into a surprise hug. I freeze for a second but then I hug her back instinctively. Her joyous personality can part even the densest of rainclouds, even if only momentarily. It's only been a couple weeks _but wow did I miss my friends._

"Is this the Northridge guy you told us about?" I gesture to him and she nods enthusiastically.

Andre extends a hand, "I'm Andre and this is Tori, we're friends of Cat," and the boy smiles, extending a hand back and they shake once, "I'm Jeremy,"

Jeremy is definitely larger than cat, by both height and weight, and he has orange short buzzed hair with a beard just starting on his chin. He's clean and dressed pretty casually, jeans and a hoodie from his school. His porcelain skin is blotched with red patches across his cheeks, though he could just be nervous. Cat can be overbearing with someone of interest. He's not ugly by any means- just not what i'd consider Cat to be in to.

"It's very nice to meet you Jeremy," I shake his hand too, and despite his physique, his handshake is surprisingly gentle. He seems like a good kid. I wonder how Robbie is going to handle this, though. I don't think he's going to do anything drastic or uncivil, I just worry about him and his infatuation with Cat.

"So Northridge.." Andre trails, "You know i've seen some of the student body there and.." oh god _Andre please shut up._ I tune him out instantly, listening intently to the background generic carnival music, the sound of live instruments just faint beyond it. I start to think of popular songs that we could perform, preferably all of us... If the rest of us do show up. I don't see the missing trio of our gang anywhere in sight, so I pull out my PearPhone and begin to text the group chat.

 **Tori** : Hey, me, Cat and Andre are here. Where are you guys?

I can hear Andre's phone vibrate from his pocket next to me, and I let him know it's the group chat, so he doesn't take out his phone and potentially interrupt this very important conversation about Northridge girls.

My phone vibrates in my hands with a faint ding.

 **Robbie:** I'm on my way now, Rex couldn't decide on his shoes.

 **Tori:** Beck, Jade, are you guys joining us?

I don't recieve a reply instantly so I put my phone away, tuning back into this conversation to see what I may have missed.

"And she had these legs that were just.."

 _Wow, Andre, maybe change the subject now._ This boy could go on forever about Northridge girls, until he's blue in the face. I notice Jeremy hasn't said anything, only nodding, probably scared to agree and face the wrath of a jealous Cat. I instinctively rub my nose at the memory of when she punched me in the face in her blind rage. My stomach releases a low grumble and I decide to snack on something sweet until I can get home later tonight and have real food.

"I'm gonna go get some cotton candy," I jerk a thumb over my shoulder, dismissing myself briefly. Cat jumps at the sound of Cotton Candy and begs me to bring her back a cone, which I agree to. It's hard to say no to Cat, she's a good friend despite being airheaded at times. She has good intentions and doesn't want anyone to be upset if she can do something about. I arrive at the food booth and order two cones of cotton candy, sliding the cash across the counter and then my phone is vibrating in my pocket again. I pull it out and go through my notifications, except it's not a text, it's a notification from one of my "favorite" people on The Slap, which for me applies to my sister and the gang. I log into The Slap and check, it's an update from Jade.

* _2 minutes ago_ \- **[Jade West]**

If you're not happy, no one is forcing you to stay. :)  
 **Mood:** Annoyed

I bite my lip. I guess that's why they haven't responded- they're fighting. Which isn't a suprise, really, all they do is fight lately. They have been known to fight constantly but lately it's been different. It's been more.. malicious. Unhealthy. It's bickering over everything. The normal glow that they have when near eachother is nowhere to be seen, they both seem irritable and exhausted all the time now.  
They're draining eachother. Is that what happens in long term relationships? I wouldn't know, but if that's the route it always takes, I want no part in it.

The thoughts are dismissed when the cotton candies are done, still warm and the scent making my mouth water. I turn back to the gang and notice Robbie has arrived with Rex, who is wearing, might I add, very nice shoes. I slide back into the growing circle with ease, standing inbetween Robbie and Cat now, handing Cat her respective cone to which she thanks me 3x in a row, not skipping a beat inbetween. I glance over to Robbie, his acting showing now- smiling, beaming with happy energy, though me and Andre can see through his facade like glass. I point my cotton candy towards him in offering, "We're glad you came," I whisper to him, and he thanks me for offering him cotton candy but says he's not in the mood for it right now. I nod and rip a piece off, popping it into my mouth and letting it melt on my tongue, the sugar pooling in my cheeks.

"So where's Beck and Jade?" Andre questions, my eyes looking up at him at the mention on their names. I guess her finally finished objectifying Northridge students. He's looking around and glancing at his phone, the time specifically, "Are they not coming?" He looks at us for an answer.

I only shrug, not knowing what to say. Robbie furrows his eyebrows, "I think they're going to break up again," he mutters, defeatedly. Cat gasps at this, like Robbie cursed.

"It's been coming for a while now," He croaks, shrugging his shoulders, upset he may have ruined the redheads' idea that the two were a perfect match. Andre only nods in response; I guess he knew this too. But all couples fight, right? It's normal.

I only sigh, an overwhelming sense of responsibility bearing down my shoulders. I remember when Jade first broke up with Beck, she was a mess. She came to my house unannounced, broken and begging me to fix her, to fix them, vulnerable and open. She trusted me to do that, to take care of her for that turmoil of a situation. She needs him and he needs her. Sure they may be fighting but ultimately they've been together for 3 years now- something must be going right, right?

"I'll talk to Jade about it, if anything,"

An uncomfortable silence falls amoung us now, and then I feel Cat staring holes into me.

"Tori will you walk with me to the bathroom?" She asks, a more stern undertone evident, her grip on her date releasing even thought I hadn't said yes yet.

"Uh, sure?" I respond questioningly, handing my cone to Andre who stares intriguiedly at the treat, as if he'd never seen one before. I knew by her tone she didn't just want an escort.

Me and Cat walk quickly to the other side of the carnival, not a word said between us. Maneuvering through the scattered people and narrowingly missing darting children that zoom across the grass. We make it to the plastic port-a-potty and Cat leans against the plastic door, her arms crossed over her chest as she stares up at me, a serious look very rarely seen from the usually bubbly Cat. I'm standing infront of her, eyebrows furrowed, and when she doesn't begin i'm wondering if she forgot what she was upset about, "What?"

"Don't try to fix Beck and Jade again," She clips, almost cutting me off, commandingly I might add. She's never *told* me to do anything before. This is Cat Valentine were talking about, wild, free, bubbly and everything is a game for her. Everything except this.

"Why?"

"Because it doesn't concern you," _Wow_. That was uncalled for. She leans in now, arms still crossed tightly across her chest, "If they break up for a third time it's because whatever they have isn't working out anymore," she continues, like she had this speech prepared and ready to go, "They're better off apart. Please don't get involved Tori," she pleads, her bright chocolate eyes begging for me to say _sure Cat, whatever you say Cat._

I open my mouth to speak my thoughts but i'm interrupted by a familiar voice over my shoulder.

"Too much Carnival junk food?" Jade drawls out in a bored tone, standing beside me and observing me for a moment before looking at Cat and doing the same, her signature mug of coffee rising to her lips and she takes a drink, "Where's everyone else?" Jade is dressed surprisingly well, her hair is done with shades of purple vibrant under her solid black curls, her eyeliner is bold and sharp, and she's wearing the same green top she was wearing when we performed Andre's Christmas song last year, but she's wearing black jeans this time instead of a skirt and leggings.

"They're by the Ferris wheel," I blurt out without thinking. Cat is refocusing on her cotton candy now, fingers twiddling with the threads of sugar.

Jade pauses for a moment, "So why are you here?" She looks between the both of us, confused, "If not over far-too-greasy Carnival garbage?"

The seconds pass with no answer and my anxiety increases. When Jade doesn't get an answer, bad things happen. I'm about to say something but Cat goes first, and what she says makes my heart drum louder in my ears, because I know now Jade is going to press further.

"We needed to talk, privately," Cat mutters, eyes not leaving the treat in her hands.

Jade nods once, as if understanding, "What about?" her gaze solid on the redhead, not even interrupting the stare to resume drink her coffee, which smells like it's been mixed with Vanilla creamer and a lot of sugar. If there's anything to know about Jade, it's that when she wants to know something, she's relentlesss until she finds out. Cat had told me later the day that Beck and I went on an Opposite Date how Jade coerced a confession from her. Cat isn't exactly difficult to break, though.

I can't take this suspense anymore. I'm going to break if she doesn't get an answer soon.

 _Think Tori of something._

 _Anything._

"It's Jeremy's birthday," I settle for, earning slightly widdened eyes from them both, "And we just wanted to be able to make this night extra special for him,"

Jade takes this bait, the tension in her face leaving as her gaze wanders to the crowd, resuming on finishing her coffee. I can still sense the cogs turning in her brain so I change the subject before she asks another pushing question, a question I know will send her into rage but it's all I got to keep her from asking what we were talking about,

"So where's Beck?"


	3. Chapter 3

**JADE WEST'S POV**

 _"So where's Beck?"_

Not even 10 minutes here and she's already wondering where my *boyfriend* is. I half think of some sort of witty retort, something that emphasizes that if she wants him, she can have him- especially because he's been such a jerk lately. He just seems to be doing everything wrong, and I know he doesn't mean to but I can't feel anything other than just annoyed with him lately. When he doesn't respond to my texts instantly, when he tells me he's too busy to see me, when he dresses too nice for just school. I don't want him attracting attention from anyone. I don't want him to be too uninterested to reply to my texts immediately. I don't want him too find anything more important than seeing me. I'm Jade Freaking West. I should be his whole world and I won't settle for anything less. I tell him what I need, how to fix us, and he's either too dumb to do it or too careless to try.

 _Do it_ , I think. Tell Tori to run to her precious Beck if she so desires. He'll probably pay more attention to her anyway, with him gawking at her since the day she entered Hollywood Arts. Maybe he'll respond to her texts in under a minute. Maybe he'll squeeze her into his busy schedule more often. Maybe he'll rub dirt on himself before school so no one looks at him- no one other than Tori.  
But the thought of that causes a sinking feeling in my chest, so I dismiss it. I suck in a breath. _Breathe_ Jade. _Focus. Don't spiral out of control_.

"Don't know," I force a grin at her, "Don't care," I keep my gaze steady, finishing my coffee to the last drop. She huffs and looks back at Cat, who only offers her a glance that could be described as empathetic. I feel for my phone in my pocket, pulling it out, my fingers gripping the indent of the pear shape a little too tightly. I re-read the texts sent between me and Beck, gritting my teeth to dust, hoping that if I stare long enough, he'll end up replying sooner.

 **Jade:** You know agreeing to go was a real dick move, Beck.

 **Jade:** We need to talk about us. It's never just us anymore.

Then there's a 10 minute gap of silence. I called him but it went to voicemail on the first ring.

 **Jade:** ? Beck I'm talking to you.

 **Beck:** I don't want to think about us, Jade. I want to just enjoy the company of our friends, and not think, for one night.

 **Jade:** You DON'T think about us though. You completely forget about us, all the time. Why won't you talk to me about this?

There's another gap that stretches far too long. I called him again; same result.

 **Jade:** I swear to God Beck, I will kick your door in again. I don't care if I have to pay for a new lock.

 **Jade:** ANSWER ME!

 **Beck:** You're not exactly easy to talk to. I'm exhausted, Jade. I have nothing left in me to fight anymore.

 **Jade:** We're not fighting, we're talking!

Then there's a pause and my heart stopped. He doesn't mean fight as in argue. He means as in fight to fix us. I didn't get this then, so our conversation continued.

 **Jade:** ? We're not fighting Beck!

 **Jade:** I'm getting into my car now. I will be outside your RV in 10 minutes flat if you don't respond.

I called him for a final time but the result doesn't change. The absolute definition of insanity; repeating the same actions and expecting a different result.

 **Beck:** I'm not home.

 **Beck:** You're insane.

He's not wrong. I am completely insane. Batshit, off the walls psycho, and it deserves to be embraced. All of me does. That's the end of our conversation, I don't respond to him. Once I got that text and took my frustration out on a body pillow, which somehow doesn't bare any marks of its beating. I pulled myself together and went all out for tonights event. I did my hair perfect, wore tight long sleeve shirt that hugs my curves, black studded jeans that make my butt look fantastic, spent a good 20 minutes in the mirror making my eyeliner sharp and bold, and I strutted out of the house with my head held high and not a single thing was going to ruin tonight for me. I'm a strong, solid young woman. Jade freaking West. I cannot be broken by anything, despite how hard it may try. Not even Beck. I'm gradually brought back into awareness once I put my phone away, I notice Cat has finished her cotton candy at this point, the paper sucked in her mouth as she salvages any remaining sugar, similar to a bee pulling nectar from a flower but a lot less elegant. Tori is looking out into the crowd, spaced out, gaze distant. She's chewing her bottom lip, like she's anxious. I study her longer than necessary, curious to pry into her mind until we're all ripped from our trances.

"Are you ladies going to be joining us or what?"

In unison all three of us look over to the direction of Andre's familiar voice, his arms waving for emphasis to get our attention.

I should leave. I should go home. I should be home. I don't belong here.

I groan to myself, at the situation between me and Beck, at this entire event going on tonight. I toss my empty coffee cup into the nearest trash bin and then i'm nearly falling back on my heels as a red motion blur zooms past me- a hyper Cat speeds over to her friends, a distant squeal heard as she jumps onto, who I assume, Jeremy is. I clench my fists and take in another deep breath. On most occasions, an excitable Cat I can tolerate, but tonight i'm on edge and ready to snap. The youngest Vega must sense this, because as she is walking in unison with me, her brown eyes glance at me with concern. Like she's expecting me to blame her for Cat (which, in all honesty, this is probably her doing.) To go off on her, yell at her, threaten her with my scissors, the usual. But I don't. There's a sense of serenity that I feel now, with just me and my not-friend, someone who is least likely to hurt me out of all of these non-friends. Because she's so good- so pure.

"If you bought her that cotton candy, she's your problem,"

It was venemous. It was malicious- it was supposed to be. But for some reason, she only smiles.

* * *

"Again, again!"

Jeremy sighs gruffly, pulling another $5 from his wallet and hands it to the carnival employee behind the counter, giving Cat another 15 chances to get the softballs into the basketball hoop. We've been watching Cat fail miserably at this game for what feels like forever now. It dawns on me that this dude, Jeremy, has never seen Cat like this. Hyper. And being hyper is a big part of being Cat. That would be like me without my coffee or Beck without his hair. My heart stills. _Beck._ He's still not here and no one has heard from him. A part of me wants to know if he's okay, and another part says forget about it, he doesn't deserve your concern. Two years and it's still a little too easy for me to not worry about him. I wonder why that is.

Am I getting tired of this too?

Andre and Robbie have drifted into some conversation that is too muffled for me to hear, but Robbie seems slightly bothered by his tone of voice. I've been watching Cat trying to win this prize for the last twenty minutes and I have to admit, girl has serious determination, but at some point she has to call it quits.

"When do you think she'll tire out?" Tori questions, sounding tentative. I shrug.

"Anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours"

I cross my arms over my chest and exhale through my nose. I really don't want to watch Cat play this game anymore, clearly she's horrible at it and Jeremy is equally fed up as well. The carnival employee behind the counter seems optimistic about it but i'm convinced he makes some sort of tip out of his earnings- otherwise he would have convinced Cat enough already. Then the sound of off-key singing rattles my eardrums. I look down the pathway that is lined with several activity booths, and see a temporary stage set up. A girl, not much older than me, probably too drunk to remember this night, is 'singing' her lungs empty into the mic. The musicians who are supplementing her performance with their instruments each exchange equal glances of concern to each other. Now this is a pleasant distraction. I didn't realize it, but I was smirking. Tori notices this, staring in the same direction now, "Do you have a song in mind?"

"Not a clue," I reply flatly.

"Well we should come up with one soon, sounds like she's wrapping up," Andre joins in, another off pitch note causing all of us to cringe in unison.

"How did we come here to perform and not have a song in mind?" Robbie questions, looking mostly at Andre, and for once, he had a point.

"We're musicians! We'll figure it out," Tori goes. There's her familiar optimism shining through.

"With what time?" I shoot at her.

"All ya'll are a mess," Rex says, "Except you cheek-bones, you're a hot mess,"

"I am not a mess!" Tori defends herself, stomping her foot down to somehow prove a point.

"That's not the only thing you're not," I chuckle, and then everyones eyes are on me, drilling holes into me. I clear my throat and nod, removing the smile from my face, "We really do need a song though,"

"Little Red, are you joining us?" Andre shouts at Cat.

"BUSY!" Cat shouts back, not even paying us a glance.

"Guess Cat's out. Shocker," Robbie mutters, a hint of hurt evident in his voice.

"Look, if we can't come up with a song, we'll do a cover, how's that?" Andre suggests.

We all agree, nodding with _sure_ and _that sounds fine._

And then a plastic hand belonging to a puppet is raised in the air, "I have a suggestion."

* * *

"Next up we have HollyWood Arts attendees, Andre Harris, Robbie Shapiro, Jade West and Tori Vega!" The announcer gestures to us before exiting to the stairs, and off the stage. I'm fixing my headset, it's feels slimy and gross and I want it touching the least of my skin as possible. This isn't a song any of us have rehearsed before, but it's a pretty popular one and we all know the lyrics well. There's a lot that could go wrong; being in beat, in sync. I'm honestly kind of worried. _Brave face_ , Jade. _We got this_. We all have our backs to the crowd as we discussed last minute as part of our beginning performance. Tori is standing next to me, Andre next to her and Robbie next to him. I can tell she's nervous as well, but she seems more excited than worried. I should follow her lead. _We got this._ We're Hollywood Arts performers.

The nostalgic opening instruments begin, trumpets with a familiar beat. The crowd starts to cheer at its' familiarity. I smile to myself; _I can do this_. Andre is the first to turn around, smoothly walking to the front of the stage.

 _Count me in unannounced, drag my nails on the tile, I just follow your scent, you can't just follow my smile._

The crowd is clapping to the beat now. I can see Tori grinning next to me and then she's up. Her voice is smooth and a nice contrast to Andre's.

 _All your flaws are aligned with this mood of mine_  
 _Cutting me to the bone, nothing left to leave me behind._

Then it's Robbie, who does a jump in the air as he makes his way to the front of the stage. I shake my head and stifle a laugh at his quirk. This was actually kind of pleasant.

 _You ought to keep me concealed, just like I was a weapon! I didn't come for a fight, but I will fight till the end._

Then it's my turn, and with too big of a smile for Jade West, I turn and make my way to the center of the stage. I'm not sure where in the middle of my part I end up facing Tori, but it happens.

 _This might be your battle, might not turn out okay. You know you look so Seattle, but you feel so LA._

We're all singing out the repetition of the last letter in perfect sync and harmony, stopping and restarting with sharp precision. Tori and I are facing each other, in a distance that is more proximate than usual but not at all uncomfortable. When we're performers, things are different. We're not ourselves; or maybe we're the raw versions of ourselves. I don't know which it is; but it gives us all a sense of freedom to be whoever we want. Our eyes meet and lock with each other, and it isn't up until now I realized how full of life she is. She's a glowing ball of sunshine and under most circumstances, this would disgust me. But as of right now, this is giving me a sense of happiness and warmth I haven't felt in a long time. We're repeating the syllable again, our bodies moving fluidly, and then I realize how close we are. We're so close; maybe just a breath apart. Then there's a pause and we're just gazing at each other with stupid grins on our faces. She's looking at me, into me. _Just a breath a part._

And then a curly haired puppet master glides between us, interruptingly, taking the next line with excessive dramatic affect, even raising his hand to the sky with emphasis.

 _And I love the way you hurt me.._

Then he collapses and starts semi-false sobbing, high pitched squeaks and all. The crowd believes it's genuine, they start awwing at him and try to offer emotional support despite their distance. I roll my eyes and Tori giggles. We know Robbie, he didn't get into Hollywood Arts by being a bad actor. He's actually really great at it. The audiences' concern is quickly vanished, because then the beat drops and he's back to standing, face composed. In unison, facing eachother, we all stomp our feat to the next beat, smiles on our faces, hearts as one.

 _It's irresistable!_

* * *

We finish up the performance with me and Tori facing back to back and the boys on their knees infront of us. My body is sore from jumping around, my skin is slick with sweat, and I feel like i'm overheating but i've never felt such a euphoric high. Now I remember why i'm a performer. The crowd screams with enthusiasm- we definitely left an impression today. We all bow for them, Tori shouting thankyou to the crowd. We make our way off the stage, the sound of overexcited teens and drunken adults still drumming in my pulsing ears.

"That. Was. AMAZING!" Robbie is the first to say, now reunited with Rex. We all laugh; we _know_ we rocked it.

"I told you, we had nothing to worry about," Tori reminds us, her words breathy as she tries to recover from the performance as well. She has an I-told-you-so smirk on her face and it bothers me slightly.

"Guess you were right, for once in your life Vega," I drawl out, but then i'm grinning at her. It must be the post performance high, I suppose. She's looking back with a small smile playing on her lips. Maybe coming out to this event wasn't so bad after all. I definitely feel way better than I did when I first got here. A high squeal of a familiar redhead is heard and she's jumping over to us with a giant plush giraffe, nearly equal in her size, "That was amazing you guys!" she goes, shoving the face of the giraffe in all of our faces. I guess she was finally able to win that prize.

"Where'd Jeremy go?" Robbie goes once the giraffe was in his face. Then there's a long pause as a quizzical look appears on Cat's face, her eyes darting around.

"He was just here a second ago.."

We're all glancing off in different directions, wondering where the dude went off to.

"I'm sure he'll come back, maybe he had to use the restroom or something," Andre goes, "Come on ya'll, the fireworks start soon and I don't want to miss it! I know the perfect spot for the best view."

 **Authors note:** Thank you all for being so patient. Sorry it took so long. I have this entire 'season' mapped out on my phone. It just took some time, caffeine and favorite Jori videos to get back into this full throttle. Song is Irresistible by Fall Out Boy.


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